A Biography Of Dilip Kumar
Dilip Kumar, the Tragedy King of Indian Cinema, is a legendary actor of Bollywood. He was born in Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar, Pakistan, and was in fact the first Pakistani actor who became a such a stalwart in Bollywood. He was born on 11th December, 1922 in a Pashtun family, and his father, Lala Ghulam Sarwar, was a fruit merchant and the owner of orchards in Peshawar and Devlali in Maharashtra near Mumbai. His birth name was Muhammad Yousuf Khan and was later christened Dipil Kumar by Hindi author, Bhagwati Charan Varma.
Personal life
In 1966, Kumar married Saira Banu, then 22 years old and a popular actress. This fairy-tale romance, after his divorce with his first wife, Aasma, was not sans criticism, due to their huge age gap, and gossip columnists predicted doom for the high-profile couple, but the union has been one of the longest lasting marriages in Bollywood. He was close friends with great bollywood personalities like Yash Chopra and Subhash Ghai. Yash chopra’s death in 2012 was a huge shock to him and he refused to celebrate his birthday. Besides the ebbs and tides in his career and personal life, he also faced the controversial allegation of having an affair with actress Vyjayanthimala.
Career
He started his career as a canteen owner and dry fruits vendor in Pune after his family relocated to Mumbai in late 1930s. His mundane life came to its turning point when, in 1943, he was noticed by actress Devika Rani and her husband Himanshu Rai who owned Bombay Talkies. Thus, he entered the film industry with the movie, Jwar Bhata in 1944, which failed to make a mark in the box office. He reached stardom with Jugnu in 1947. Since then, he never had to look back during his extremely successful career.
Kumar made huge contributions to the Indian Cinema during his career of more than 6 decades during which he worked in more than 60 films. Some of the greatest movies made in Bollywood, like the tragic Devdas (1955) and the historical Mughal-e-Aazam (1960) were his work. His other popular tragic roles were in films like Deedar (1951), Amar (1954), and Madhumati (1958). But, his fame as a tragic hero gradually led him to depression. So, taking the advice of his psychiatrist, he started working in movies of different genres. He became successful with lighthearted roles such as a swaggering peasant in Aan (1952) and a comic role in Azaad (1955). He also worked in the social film, Ganga Jamuna (1961) and the romantic movie, Andaz (1949).
Ganga Jamuna was his own production in which he and his brother, Nasir Khan, played the title roles. Although the film was a success, he did not produce any other film. British director, David Lean, offered him the role of Sherif Ali in his 1962 blockbuster, Lawrence of Arabia. But, Kumar, a picky actor, declined the part. After a number of commercially unsuccessful films in the mid 1960s, he bounced back to fame with his dual role of twins in Ram Aur Shyam (1967).In 1976, he took a break from his film career for 5 years and returned with a character role in the film Kranti (1981). He continued his career playing central character roles in films such as Shakti (1982), Karma (1986) and Saudagar (1991). His last film was Qila (1998).
Awards and Popularity
This critically acclaimed actor has won 8 Filmfare Best Actor awards, 19 Filmfare nominations, and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.He was appointed Sheriff of Mumbai (an honorary position) in 1980. The Government of India honored Kumar with the Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994. He was honored with NTR National Award in 1997 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The Government of Pakistan conferred Kumar with Nishan-e-Imtiaz, the highest civilian award in Pakistan in 1997, which he was asked to return by the Shiv Sena and Bal Thakrey during the Kargil War, but he refused to comply. He was honored with CNN-IBN Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.
He has made active efforts to bring the people of India and Pakistan closer. He was nominated as a member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian parliament for a term.
Conclusion
In 2011, he launched his Twitter account to be in touch with his fans. His married life with saira banu is looked upon as one of the greatest real-life love stories of bollywood. His biography by Uday Tara Nayar will be launched on his 90th birthday. He is not only a bright star of bollywood who has inspired generations of actors of bollywood including shah rukh khan, he is also proven ample no. of times that as a person, too, he is beyond comparison.
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